Author: Vardiafrica

Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has called on the Nigerian judiciary to enhance trust and efficiency within the country’s capital market. VP Shettima, together with the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka Anite, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission Dr. Emomotimi Agama and other stakeholders in the capital market stressed that the judiciary has a critical role in driving the agenda of the federal government to achieve the N1tn target for the Nigerian economy. Speaking at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Judges’ Workshop in Abuja, Shettima highlighted how effective dispute resolution mechanisms underpin investor confidence and…

US President Donald Trump has announced plans to send additional defensive weapons to Ukraine after his administration paused certain shipments last week. “We’re going to send some more weapons. We have to—they have to be able to defend themselves,” Trump said ahead of a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “They’re getting hit very hard. We’re going to have to send more weapons. Defensive weapons, primarily, but they’re getting hit very, very hard.” His comments follow reports that the administration had paused some weapons shipments, including air defense missiles, after a review of military spending and foreign support. A…

Ireti Kingibe, senator representing the federal capital territory (FCT), says Nyesom Wike’s conduct is fuelling resentment among residents. Speaking on ‘Political Paradigm’, a programme on Channels Television, Kingibe said Wike is out of touch with the needs of the people. “Most of Abuja is pitch dark,” she said. “So I go there, put solar lights in between the places, light up the place so that young people will at least have… you can’t keep them at home, so they’ll at least be safer. “They will come give me awards, commend me for looking out for them. It’s not that he (Wike) wouldn’t have…

The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has stated that all of its branches throughout the country would cease operations owing to the delay in the payment of June 2025 salaries. The union highlighted the adoption of its “No Pay, No Work” resolution as the cause of this action. ASUU sections at two federal universities, the University of Jos and the University of Abuja, have already begun strike in accordance with the mandate. ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, confirmed the development to Newsmen on Monday in Abuja, explaining that the institutions awere merely implementing a resolution by…

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview released on Monday that Israel, which last month fought a 12-day war with Iran, had attempted to assassinate him. “They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” Pezeshkian told US media figure Tucker Carlson in response to a question on whether he believed Israel had tried to kill him. “It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting… they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,” he said according to a translation…

Nigerian athlete Chukwuebuka Enekwechi has made history as the first African to throw over 22 meters in the men’s shot put. At the Eugene Diamond League in the United States last weekend, Enekwechi clinched third place with a record-breaking throw of 22.10 meters, smashing his previous personal best of 21.91m set at the same event last year. The impressive feat came in a highly competitive event, where Joe Kovacs took first place with a world-leading throw of 22.48m, while Roger Steen edged past Enekwechi for second, throwing 22.11m on his fifth attempt. Enekwechi gave his all in a final attempt…

President Bola Tinubu has called for a reevaluation of the current global governance structure and the financial and healthcare systems, urging greater equity and inclusion for low-income and emerging economies, particularly in Africa. At the 17th meeting of the Global South and the Emerging Economies bloc, BRICS, on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the President stated that environmental degradation, the climate crisis, and healthcare inequalities should receive more attention, as they contribute to slowing growth and development. President Tinubu, invited to the summit by Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, stated that Nigeria supports the BRICS position on…

The Senate on Sunday said the Federal High Court in Abuja has not served the certified true copy of the judgment which nullified the six-month suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. On Friday, Justice Binta Nyako ordered the Senate to reinstate Natasha, describing her suspension as excessive. But Senate spokesman, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, said the upper chamber has acknowledged the judgement of the court, but are yet to serve the CTC. “Since no party to the case has been officially served the enrolled order of the judgment, none can enforce any perceived order or relief,” he stated. “The…

BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro Sunday warned that US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” import tariffs risk hurting the global economy. The final summit statement condemned last month’s military strikes on Iran as a “violation of international law” without mentioning the US or Israel by name. The BRICS bloc of developing nations on Sunday condemned the increase of tariffs and attacks on Iran, but refrained from naming U.S. President Donald Trump. The group’s declaration, which also took aim at Israel’s military actions in the Middle East, mentioned war-torn Ukraine just once. China’s President Xi Jinping did not attend a…

Gabon’s President, Brice Oligui Nguema, who took power in a coup that ended 56 years of rule by the Bongo family, launched a political party on Saturday. The new party, known as the Democratic Union of Builders (UDB), “embodies a shared desire to rebuild the Gabonese social contract after the brilliant presidential victory that ended more than 50 years of government by the Bongo dynasty”. “It’s motto — inclusion, development, happiness — conveys a simple ambition: to unite, transform, and elevate Gabon,” it added in a statement.Nguema, a former general who overthrew Ali Bongo, son of longtime president Omar Bongo,…